DWP repository to be available for wider use

Records management system under development could be basis for cloud shared service

A records management system is being developed for the Department of Work and Pensions that could be used by other government agencies.

HP is doing the work under its contract for application services with the department. Graham Lay, vice-president of HP Enterprise Solutions, said the company is making the investment in the system and that the DWP will be charged for its use on a ‘per item’ basis.

It will provide a repository of client information for use throughout the DWP, and is being developed on a model that could be adopted elsewhere through a cloud platform.

Speaking at a round table on cloud computing staged by the company, Lay said the technology is making the initiative possible. Under more traditional models of application provision, it would have been a slow process to make it available for other authorities and the chances of it being used elsewhere were quite small.

He added that cloud platforms could support the effort to make applications available beyond the commissioning body.

“As far as we are concerned, we would like to see the services we set up used as widely as possible across government,” he said. “This is a key trend in the greater use of shared services.”